


The fall of Khazad-dûm

by Rogercat



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Balrogs, Bearded Dwarf Women, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Dwarves, F/M, Gen, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Horror, Moria | Khazad-dûm, Parenthood, Pre-Canon, Royalty, Terrifying Tolkien Week, Third Age, Third Age 1980, Underground Dueling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 21:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21215060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Durin Vi meets the Balrog that will be called his Bane





	The fall of Khazad-dûm

Third Age, year 1980: 

It was in the middle of his grandson's ceremony of being recognized as the next heir after his father Náin and grandfather now when the future Thráin I had found a young Dwarf maiden to be his future consort despite that their marriage would not take place until the young couple were in their sixties at the earliest, as Durin VI and the royal court learned about what had awoken deep below the city. 

“Your majesty! A monster is in the tunnels!” 

Panic had already broken out among the population, especially as the monster revealed itself in the lower parts of the city, and began to slay any Dwarf that it could find. 

“Dams and children towards the East-gate! Gather soldiers for defense!” 

Thráin immediately began to bring his betrothed Iðunn and and his mother Brynhild with him

“Brynhild! Follow Thráin and his family to safety!” Náin called over the heads of the fleeing court, before following after his father to the armory where they had their private armor and weapons. 

  
  


It did not take long for his servants to help Durin get dressed out of his ceremonial robes and into his armour instead.

“Durin, no!” his queen Tyra pleaded, pushing herself between two guards at the door in order to come closer to her husband, “do not try anything reckless at your age! Is it not better to seal off the tunnels where the monster might be….”

He looked at her, not as if she had lost her mind but a look of sadness.

“I will do this for you, beloved, for our dynasty and our people. It is the duty of a King to defend those he rules over, and that is what I intend to do.”

“But you risk to die! Is it the glory of battle you desire, or tiredness of life!?” 

Durin did not blame his wife for her emotional outburst, right now they had no way of knowing what kind of monster that had awoken below their own city. And as his queen, she was expected to be a leader without letting her own fear show itself. 

He took her face between his hands and let their foreheads touch, he even felt her tears wet his beard. 

“I will not let my people lose their lives to this monster. Nor will I lose you.” 

Although he married a different wife in each new life, Durin were fond of them all in various ways. Treasured them because each one were unique, and by his Maker he would not lose Tyra or anyone else in his current family. 

“Go with our son and grandson. Please, if anything, ** _ live_ ** for my sake.”

As Tyra was weeping too hard to protest when some of the guards started to lead her away to safety, Durin laid a hand on the shoulder of his son. 

“ _ Lead our people from now on, Thráin _ . I will defend us against this monster but I can't promise that I will survive.”

He did not allow his shocked son to protest against his decision, instead ordering him to ensure that there were no more people in the lower levels of the Dwarven city. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Soldiers had arrived ahead of their King, helping the civilians to escape towards the upper levels of Khazad-dûm. The sound of heavy footsteps as something came closer. 

“Your majesty!” 

Durin could feel the heat even as he arrived, saw the already ruined stone corridors that was burning because the slain bodies there had their clothing being set on fire. 

It was a monster indeed, a black hulking beast covered in flames and wreathed by smoke. Although Durin had never taken part in the wars against Morgoth in the First Age, mainly because Khazad-dûm were so distantly located to where Beleriand once had been, his first life had been so long that he could still remember the monsters lead by the Dark Lord. 

“You will not have my family or anyone else of my people.” 

Recalling how he and the first Dwarves of Durin's Folk once had built this realm, Durin pushed on a hidden device that thankfully still worked after so many thousand years, and a portcullis fell down. On purpose, Durin placed himself on the same side as the Balrog, blocking off the soldiers. 

“Your majesty!” they called fruitlessly.

But Durin was ready to die, if he could ensure that his people and family were safe. Yes, it was unlikely that he would be capable of defeating the Balrog alone, but it would be worth it if no one else died this day. 

  
  


The duel was uneven from the very beginning, and not just in strength or size. Durin was not in his prime anymore, and the flaming whip caused him great pain when he was stuck somewhere not protected by his armour. 

“ ** _I am the oldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and this is my Realm! No creature of Morgoth shall end the Line of Durin in front of their own Founder! GLORY TO THE MAKER AND ALL-FATHER!!_ ** ”

His battle axe was shattered when the Balrog brought down the sword again. 

And Durin VI fell in battle as the flaming sword broke though his armor and crushed his ribcage, his last thoughts being on his family in this life and promising his people that he had done his best to protect them. 

  
  


It would have broken his heart even more if he had known that his son would join him in the Halls of the Forefathers only a year later in the same manner of death, and his young grandson having to shoulder the burden of King over a people without a home as they had to flee from their ancestral home thanks to the Balrog which they named Durin's Bane and the Nameless Terror.

The Kingdom of Khazad-dûm had ended.

**Author's Note:**

> According to the timeline on Tolkien Gateway, Thráin I was only 47 years old when he became King of Durin's Folk in T.A 1981 after that Durin VI was killed by the Balrog in 1980 and his father Náin suffered the same fate in the following year
> 
> In my stories, the Dwarves comes of age at 45 years old, but married in their early sixties at the earliest age because a pregnancy at a younger age than that can harm Dwarrowdams and their fertility


End file.
